A month ago, we previewed the new CD from the outstanding Ontario chamber-pop band The Rest, Everyone All At Once. This week, the album officially dropped and the rave reviews have begun to arrive. Today, “Walk on Water” [download here] received the award for “Song of the Day” at NPR. NPR.org writer Jessica Suarez, who may or may not have read our similarly written review, had this to say about The Rest:
The title of The Rest’s recent sophomore album, Everyone All at Once, suggests such an overload, but each track contains plenty of breathing room without sacrificing the lush textures of a large ensemble. Part of it is the band’s tendency to expand outward, as in the five-minute stunner “Walk on Water (Auspicious Beginnings).”
Beginning with organ, piano and cello, this pocket orchestra provides a nice bed for singer Adam Bentley’s artfully unsteady vocals. All of which builds up to a Pet Sounds-influenced bridge that brims with interlocking percussion, wet reverb and falsetto harmonies. Later explosions and pauses hint at Arcade Fire-esque bombast, but they’re not as dramatic. Take, for example, the way Bentley’s worried lament “Oh God, she knows / She knows, she knows, she knows” comes in response to his partner finding out what detergent he uses. The title’s a bit misleading, but the “auspicious beginnings” part sounds about right.
We are also happy to report that The Rest will be coming to the US for the first time, for both a La Blogotheque “Take Away” session and their first US live show. The “Take Away” session was discussed by lead singer Adam Bentley’s on the “Exchanging Emails” feature of the London Ontario blog Burgeoning Metropolis.
The first live show in the U.S. by the Rest will be part of the NYCTaper Presents show on June 19, 2009 at a yet unannounced Brooklyn venue. Many more details to follow regarding that special event.
More raves here:
http://www.themusicologists.com/featured-articles/more-hits-and-misses
“Retreating to the faraway northern woods of Ontario to record this record, this band has crafted a genuine masterpiece- fully realized, beautifully crafted and dynamic in scope; The Rest should be the next big band to come from The Great White North, and if they aren’t on critic’s “year-end/best-of ‘09″ lists I’m formally lodging a criminal investigation to as why they aren’t. Grade: 9/10.”